Location: Montgomery County IN

Ebenezer West was born near Parkersburg, in Montgomery county, Indiana, February 9, 1829. He lived in his native county until he reached the age of eight years, when his parents removed to Boone county, same State, and settled near Lebanon, where he lived with them until attaining his majority. On the 28th of November, 1850, he was united in marriage to Miss Julia Ann Robinson, and began farming upon a farm he had previously purchased, in Boone county, and there continued to live until 1853, when he sold his farm and removed to Lebanon. There he was employed for two years in the county recorder’s office, then as book keeper for Conrad Perkins, a merchant of the same place, after which he learned the photographer’s art and carried on that business in Lebanon until 1859. In this latter year he removed to Missouri, and settled in Bancroft, this county, where be engaged in photographing until the breaking out of the war, in 1861. Discover your family's story. Enter a grandparent's name to get started. choose a state: Any AL AK AZ AR CA CO CT DE DC FL GA HI ID IL IN IA KS KY LA ME MD MA MI MN MS MO MT NE NV NH NJ NM NY NC ND OH OK OR PA RI SC SD TN TX UT VT VA WA WV WI WY...

John M. Hunter was born in Montgomery county, Indiana, May 2, 1842. His parents died when he was five years old, and he lived with Mr. Jacob Hershbarger until he reached his eleventh year, then with his brother-in-law, Rev. William Baldwin. He was educated in the common schools of Indiana, and came to this county in 1857, and early in 1861 went to Clark county, Iowa. July 4, 1861, he enlisted in Company F, Sixth Regiment Iowa Volunteer Infantry. His regiment participated in the battle of Shiloh, and there he was wounded in the foot; he was in the battles of Vicksburg, Scottsboro, and others. He reenlisted as a veteran December 21, 1863, and was with Sherman in the Atlanta campaign and on the march to the sea, and until the surrender of Johnston’s army, and was discharged at Louisville, Kentucky. Since the war he has engaged in farming in this county. Mr. Hunter was married, November 4, 1869, to Miss Martha A. Wiles, who was born August 23, 1853. They have six children: Clarence W., born June 12, 1871; Daniel E., born May 25, 1873 died; Cad, born December 16, 1871 died; Mary B., born February 11, 1876; William E., born July 23, 1878; and Maud, born January 28,...

Abraham Switzer, son of immigrant Valentine Switzer, and his wife, Mary Hotzenpillar Switzer, was born in Hampshire County, Va., on April 4, 1767, and died near Crawfordsville, Ind., Jan. 12, 1838. He was married to Elizabeth Grant. Elizabeth Grant Switzer, was married to Abraham Switzer. She was born September 30, 1777. Died Aug. 10, 1845. Children: Polly Switzer, born Sept. 12, 1798 Peter Switzer, born May 27, 1801. Sally Switzer, born April 11, 1803. James Switzer, born March 18, 1805. John Switzer, born Oct. 6, 1807. Elizabeth Switzer, born June 3, 1810. Louisa Switzer, born Feb. 16, 1813. Gaily Switzer, born Nov. 28, 1815. Maranda Switzer, born July 20, 1819. Items: A tradition held by this family, is, that Abraham Switzer was himself an Immigrant, coming from Switzerland. Concerning his settlement in Ken­tucky and the family relation of his wife, the record is indefinite. From near Winchester, Ky., he moved his family in 1829 to Montgomery County, Ind., of which Crawfordsville is the county seat. Near this city are still to be found representatives of this family. In the records of Franklin County, Ky., for Jan. 12, 1797, there is given the marriage of Abraham Switzer and Elizabeth Grant. The tradition that this marriage took place in Pennsylvania is probably incorrect. James Switzer, son of Abraham and Elizabeth Grant Switzer, married Mary Donaldson, whose family continued to live near...

Robert H. Grantham has been a resident of Daviess County since 1849, at which time he came with his parents from Montgomery County, Indiana, where they resided for sixteen years. He was born in Washington County, Indiana, near the town of Salem, November 17, 1831. His father was a farmer and stock-raiser, and a native of North Carolina. The early life of Mr. Grantham was spent on his father’s farm and in acquiring an education. From 1859 until 1862 he was engaged in farming and teaching, but during 1862 he enlisted in Company A, First Regiment Missouri State Militia, and served until he was mustered out. Returning to Marion Township, Daviess County, he turned his attention to farming for a number of years; and eventually purchased the farm in Sheridan Township, where he now resides. Mr. Grantham has always been prominently identified with the interest of the county; has served as circuit clerk of the county for a period of nearly six years, being elected for a term of four years at the expiration of his first appointment. He spent the winter of 1876 and 1877 in Texas for the benefit of his health. He was married, October 20, 1859, to Miss Emma I. Canterbury, a native, of Hannibal, Missouri, and daughter of Jeremiah L. and Catherine Waugh Canterbury, both of Kentucky. Mr. and Mrs. Grantham have had four...

Jesse Meharry. One of the largest farming estates in Champaign County is that of the Jesse Meharry family, now managed and operated by the sons of the late Jesse Meharry. Mr. Meharry was a notable figure in Champaign County affairs, not only as a land owner, farmer and stockman, but as a public spirited citizen. He was born in Montgomery County, Indiana, October 9, 1835. He was of Scotch-Irish and Welsh extraction. Concerning his ancestry it is said that during the reign of “Bloody” Queen Mary his forefathers escaped by going to Ireland. After several generations some of the family located in Pennsylvania, near Connelsville. Later they moved to Adams County, Ohio. The parents of Jesse Meharry were Thomas and Eunity (Patton) Meharry. Thomas Meharry was born April 27, 1799, in Adams County, Ohio. Eunity Patton was born in Brown County, Ohio, August 16, 1802. They married in December, 1827. Soon after their marriage the young people moved to near Wingate, Indiana, in Montgomery County, where they lived the remainder of their lives. He was a man of splendid business ability and acquired a large amount of land not only in Indiana but in Illinois. Thomas Meharry died January 29, 1874. He was the father of seven children: Mrs. Jane P. Dick, William, Mrs. Ellen Martin, Jesse, Mrs. Polly A. McCorkle, Abraham P. and Isaac. Jesse Meharry was raised...

The name Spilman has for half a century been one of prominence in Riley County. The people of that county, including both the bar and the general public, will always recall with special marks of affection and esteem the life and services of the late Judge Robert Bruce Spilman, who was one of the pioneer lawyers of Manhattan and for ten years occupied a seat on the district bench. A son of William and Dorcas Jane (Garrison) Spilman, who were natives of Kentucky, and early settlers in Indiana, Judge Spilman was born at their home at Rockville, Indiana, August 7, 1840. He was just in the prime of his years and ussfulness when his death occurred at Manhattan, October 19, 1896. His parents in order to provide better opportunities for their children moved from Rockville to Crawfordsville, Indiana. Crawfordsville is the seat of one of Indiana’s most noted educational institutzons, Wabash College, distinguished for the many eminent men who have gone from its halls. Judge Spilman was one of the graduates with the class of 1861. On leaving college he accepted the place of teacher in a school, but soon left the schoolroom to enlist in defense of the Union. Crawfordsville was a hotbed of patriotism during the war, and was the home of General Lew Wallace, the soldier author. Judge Spilman became a private in Company K of...

The only son of the late Judge R. B. Spilman still living in Manhattan is Robert Bruce Spilman, Jr. He was born in Manhattan September 7, 1875, and that city has always been his home. He attended the public schools, and in 1894 entered the halls of his father’s Alma Mater, old Wabash College in Crawfordsville, Indiana. He continued his studies at Wabash until 1896. Returning home he occnpied himself with various lines of employment until 1900, and in that year was elected clerk of the District Court for Riley County. Since beginning his duties as clerk of the District Court in January, 1901, Mr. Spilman has been continued in that office by repeated elections and now has given the office the benefit of his efficient service for fifteen years. For seven years he was also a partner in a hardware firm in Manhattan, and since selling that interest he has acquired an abstract business and still operates that. He is a republican in politics and has long been a ruling slder in the First Presbyterian Church and is superintendent of its Sunday school. In 1903 he married Willa Wood of Angola, Indiana. They have one son, Raymond...

During his residence at Topeka since 1889 Mr. Bailey had developed a large insurance business, had been a citizen in whom public spirit is one of the most important qualities, and to his many personal friends is known as a man of charming sociability and of exceptional interest. He was born near Waynetown, Indiana, September 23, 1866, a son of Horatio Jackson Bailey and Leah Jane (Gartrell) Bailey, his wife. His great-grandfather, George Bailey, was a Scotchman, and married a Scotch woman from North Ireland. He migrated to the State of Delaware and settled on Chesapeake Bay, and here at this home the grandfather, Horatio Bailey, was born. This Horatio Bailey was a soldier in the War of 1812, and married Sarah Ann Hearst. The Hearst family was a numerous one, living on Chesapeake Bay, in the State of Delaware. Many of them followed the sea, and George Hearst, the great-grandfather, was privateersman in the war of the Revolution, and earned distinction for valorous service. Horatio Jackson Bailey, father of the Topeka citizen, was a minister, having removed to Indiana from Ohio. His wife, Leah Jane Gartrell, was descended from a French Huguenot family that long lived in Virginia. The Gartrells were among the first families of Virginia, were planters on a large scale and before the war owned many slaves. The Gartrells came into Virginia from the southern...

Newton J. Davison, former county clerk of Lincoln County, had been in Kansas for many years and is now giving a splendid business service as an abstractor and real estate and loan business man at Lincoln. Mr. Davison was born at Crawfordsville, Montgomery County, Indiana, September 14, 1866. His grandfather Davison was born in Belfast, Ireland, in 1798, married in his native country, where he had a small bit of farming land, and later he and his wife, Rachel, immigrated to America, settling first in New York State and moving from there to Crawfordsville, Indiana, where he farmed until his death about 1870. Abraham Davison, father of Newton J., was the founder of the family in Kansas. He was born on the shoree of Lake Champlain in New York State, October 31, 1831. He spent most of his youth there and then with his parents moved to Montgomery County, Indiana, and in September, 1878, came West and located in Phillips County, Kansas. There he homestended 160 acres and also took up a timber claim of a quarter section. He proved up both but finally sold the homestead and concentrated all his attantion upon the timber claim, which he converted into a model farm before his death. He died in Phillips County, in July, 1902. He did his duty as a citizen and was a staunch adherent of the republican...

Hon. William Howard Thompson was born in Crawfordsville, Indiana, October 14, 1871. He is a son of John Franklin Thompson and Emma Dora (McGriff) Thompson, and with his parents came to Kansas in the year of 1880, and settled on a farm six miles north of Sabetha, in Nemaha County, and made that county had home until he went to Topeka, where he served as clerk of the Court of Appeals. Senator Thompson is descended from patriotic stock. His paternal ancestors were early Colonial Amerieans of Scotch-Irish lineage, and fought as soldiers in the Revolution, the War of 1812, the Mexican war, and his father was a Civil war veteran, having served in the Thirty-fourth Indiana Volunteers. The Senator’s father was a farmer and lawyer, and was elected judge of the twenty-second judicial district in 1890, serving with distinction. In 1882, the family moved to Seneca, where Senator Thompson continned his education, graduating from the high school in 1886, at the age of fifteen years. At the age of sixteen he was appointed deputy register of deeds of Nemaha County, and taught a term of school in Brown County; and at the age of eighteen was deputy treasurer of Nemaha County, and at twenty he served as court reporter of the twenty-second judicial district. Upon his graduation from the Seneca High School, he commenced studying law under the direction...

Borton, Thomas Ernest; broker; born, Plymouth, Ind., Dec. 14, 1868; son of Dr. Amos 0. and Mary Cooper Borton; educated, high school; graduated in 1887; went to Wabash College, graduating in 1893; married, Elyria, O., Miss Elizabeth Lewis; issue, three children, Marion Frances, Jean Lewis and Robert Ernest; entered the employ of the American Steel & Wire Co.; worked for Dime Savings and Trust Co.; then became sec’y of the Reserve Trust Co.; then sec’y and treas. of the Prudential Trust Co.; resigned and went to California; after two years there returned to Cleveland as asst. cashier of the Cleveland National Bank; after two years joined his brother, Fred S. Borton, in the formation of the firm of Borton & Borton, brokers; treas. Shaker Heights Improvement Co.; member Chamber of Commerce, Union, Hermit, and Euclid Clubs; member Windemere Presbyterian...

Enterprise, Wallowa County, Oregon One of the largest funerals in the history of the town of Union marked the obsequies of the pioneer editor and politician, E. S. McComas. The funeral was held at Union, Wednesday afternoon, September 6 at 3 o’clock, and was attended by a great gathering of pioneers. The body was laid to rest beside his mother, brother, and son. The deceased leaves a widow, one daughter, an adopted son and three sisters, Mrs. Alice M. Bell of Enterprise, Mrs. Esther E. Pursel and Mrs. Mary R. Thomson of Union. Mrs. Bell received word of her brother’s extremity Saturday afternoon and went at once to his home near Wallowa, and was at his bedside when he passed away, Monday, September 4. Following is a graphic account of the busy, useful life of Mr. McComas, largely taken from his own diary. Elgin Recorder: — E.S. McComas, for forty-nine years a resident of Eastern Oregon, died at Wallowa on Monday last. He was born, to quote his diary which is before us, “In Adams County, Ohio, on January 23, 1839, and at the age of four years came with my parents to Montgomery County, Indiana. My father was a native of Kentucky, of Scotch-Irish ancestry, and my mother was born in Ohio, of Dutch-English parents.” His education was, as he says “absorbed while shivering in the back seat...

With industry and determination as dominant qualities, Frank D. Custer has made steady progress in the business world, being now the owner of a valuable fruit farm near Bartlesville and also having oil wells on his property. He was born in Montgomery County, Indiana, the boyhood home of General Lew Wallace of military and literary fame, on the 6th of August, 1855. Three of his brothers served in the Civil war and one of these, A. R. Custer, is now living retired in Bartlesville with his family. Frank D. Custer acquired his education in the public schools of Thornton, Indiana, and when seventeen years of age became connected with the mercantile establishment of his friend, Billy Emmett, but at the end of a year he resumed his studies. Owing to ill health he was advised by his friend, Dr. Jack Davis, who was greatly interested in his welfare, to go to a higher altitude and he, accordingly, went to Ottawa, Kansas, reaching that place on the 3d of January, 1878. The climate there proved very beneficial and at the termination of a year he was completely restored to health. For ten years he remained a resident of that locality, following agricultural pursuits, and came to Indian Territory at the end of that period, locating at the head of Coon creek in 1884. Having a thorough knowledge of the breeding...

One of the largest funerals in the history of the town of Union marked the obsequies of the pioneer editor and politician, E. S. McComas. The funeral was held at Union, Wednesday afternoon, September 6 at 3 o’clock, and was attended by a great gathering of pioneers. The body was laid to rest beside his mother, brother, and son. The deceased leaves a widow, one daughter, an adopted son and three sisters, Mrs. Alice M. Bell of Enterprise, Mrs. Esther E. Pursel and Mrs. Mary R. Thomson of Union. Mrs. Bell received word of her brother’s extermity Saturday afternoon and went at once to his home near Wallowa, and was at his bedside when he passed away, Monday, September 4. Following is a graphic account of the busy, useful life of Mr. McComas, largely taken from his own diary. Elgin Recorder: — E.S. McComas, for forty-nine years a resident of Eastern Oregon, died at Wallowa on Monday last. He was born, to quote his diary which is before us, “In Adams County, Ohio, on January 23, 1839, and at the age of four years came with my parents to Montgomery county, Indiana. My father was a native of Kentucky, of Scotch-Irish ancestry, and my mother was born in Ohio, of Dutch-English parents.” His education was, as he says “absorbed while shivering in the back seat or roasting up against...